Into The Fire
by Kyriana42
Summary: Bedlam Hospital has created a dangerous mind that escapes through an anomaly and has its sights set on Becker as its first victim.
1. Crawling in the Dark

**Disclaimer: Don't Own, Don't Sue!**** ;D**

**Into The Fire**

**Stage I****: Crawling in the Dark**

'Can't you hear it?' A voice from somewhere asked.

'Those are not the voices of madmen, but of demons; creatures closing in on their prey.' It spoke.

She crouched in the darkness, hiding from the spectators that could be heard carrying on down the hallway.

Her eyes darting with primal haste around the room, looking for something to blame the voice on.

Screams of madness filled the air and echoed the hallways.

"I know this cell." A booming voice rose over the screams. "Lady Merchant. Disappeared for a spell and went mad."

A noise erupted like nails on a blackboard. Laughter?

She crawled across the filthy floor over by the door, under the barred window as the creatures outside shouted obscenities and banged against the door.

Several minutes later, the banging ceased. The calls of the creatures gone mad continued, like the sweet music of a hell that suckled you in with hatred and drove you to thoughts of things that could not be.

The flickering lights that she once thought were real seemed figments of her imagination. It was too late though, time was gone.

'Left for dead.' The voice whispered again in the darkness.

Her primal eyes darted about the dark room seeking a source.

A shadow shifted.

It scurried.

A pitter-patter, clicking noise danced across the dirty ground.

She dove from her space below the window and pounced on the unsuspecting shadow. It screeched and howled.

'All alone.' It taunted.

She tightened her grasp. Ringing its neck, ignoring its protests.

'Unloved.' It laughed as she choked the life from it.

She flung it across the dark vastness and heard a high-pitched noise as it came into contact with the cold hardness before hitting the ground with a thud.

'Never gone.' It laughed.

She stood in a crouched position, and began to dash toward it to kill it again, when the dark vastness became bright.

She spun around with the alarm of an animal surprised while on the hunt. A large glowing orb floated in the corner opposite the undead voice that taunted her.

She crawled a few steps toward it.

She waved her hand in front of it.

Cold air poured through it.

'Go on,' the voice coaxed.

She stepped closer and closer to it.

'Kill them all.' It chortled as she leapt through.

* * *

><p>She hit cold, rocky ground and scattered away from the light and hid in some nearby bushes, glancing around manically.<p>

Metal things on wheels rushed toward her and the light and she dove close to the ground, keeping watch on what every creature that emerged from the metal things did.

* * *

><p>"Jess? Any sign of incursion?" Becker asked as he, Matt, and Abby surveyed the area with several of his men.<p>

"None that I know of." Jess answered via the earpiece.

"Seal it." Matt ordered.

"We should check the area to be safe." Abby spoke as two of Becker's men set up the anomaly sealing device and sealed the rip in time.

Becker moved to the right of the anomaly to search while Abby and Matt went to the left. Becker's men covering the other directions while two stayed with the anomaly.

Becker had walked right past the bush where eyes stared out at him, glaring; contemplating.

* * *

><p>After about an hour of searching the grounds, Matt called over the comms.<p>

"All clear here." He spoke. "We're heading back to the anomaly"

"Clear here as well." Becker confirmed. "On my way back."

"It's getting colder, I think it's time we start heading back." Matt stated, packing his EMD back into the bed of the truck.

Becker nodded. "I'll stay here till it closes."

"You'll freeze." Abby pointed out.

Becker turned and went back to his truck; coming back moments later donning a heavy black winter coat with fur lining.

"Now, I won't." He smirked.

"Where did you get that?" Matt inquired, holding back a laugh as Becker flipped up the hood.

"I thought you were leaving?" Becker raised an eyebrow.

Matt held up his hands in defeat with a smirk.

"See you tomorrow." Abby smiled as everyone, save for Becker and two guards, packed up and left the area.

"Jess," Becker spoke over the comms. "I'll drop my black box and everything off at the ARC tomorrow when I come in."

"Sure thing." Jess spoke cheerfully. "Stay safe."

* * *

><p>She stayed closed to the ground watching defensively as the remaining creatures stood to observe the light vanish.<p>

Time was nonexistent to her.

She couldn't feel the cold, numbness that threatened to overtake her at any moment.

She was observantly focused on the taller creature of the three with the furry halo around his face.

The two slightly shorter creatures picked something up and walked away from where the light had been.

She watched as the taller creature followed to talk with them.

She darted from her hiding spot and climbed onto the back of the metal monster without notice from the three creatures.

After hearing chattering, she heard the other metal monster roar off.

She heard a click and a thud before the metal monster that she was concealing herself on, roared to life and departed.

'Kill them all.' The voice chortled.

* * *

><p>This is definitely a bit darker than what I've written to date, I think. But hey, it's October and Halloween's coming up! Let me know your thoughts! I'll try to post another chapter soon!<p>

Please Review! ;D


	2. Something Wicked This Way Comes

**Disclaimer: Don't Own, Don't Sue!**** ;D**

**Stage II****: Something Wicked This Way Comes**

She felt the metal thing come to a halt and die down. She knew then that it had stopped for the night.

She pressed herself close against the metal thing's back as she heard the tall creature climb out and slam something before circling around and walking across the ground.

She slowly rose and watched as the tall, furry-haloed creature trekked to his dwelling.

'Bide your time.' The voice reasoned.

She sunk back down and watched as he entered the dwelling.

She observed the lights turn on and off; until all seemed quiet.

She darted glances everywhere around her to make sure no predators were out and about before hoping off of the metal thing and looking around at her surroundings.

* * *

><p>Becker shot awake and glanced around his bedroom. He wiped the cold sweat from his head.<p>

It was freezing in his room.

He had been having a nightmare about the day Sarah Page was killed. She had insisted on going with him and his men through the anomaly to the future. It was because of that and the order he gave her to wait in the truck till they returned that she was killed.

While searching the buildings, a future predator had stumbled upon the trucks and attacked Sarah, tearing her to shreds before they returned.

He walked over to the thermostat in the hallway and tapped it. It read that it should be 22.7*C, but it felt more like -1*C.

He turned and walked back into the bedroom, glancing at the clock. It was only three-fifteen in the morning; too early to be awake and too early to be at the ARC.

He sighed and walked over to the closet. He grabbed two large afghan blankets and slung them over his bed before climbing back into bed and curling up in the warmth; sleep overtaking him.

* * *

><p>A couple of hours later, Becker woke up and grabbed a hot shower; his flat feeling colder now than it had in the middle of the night.<p>

"I'll have to get someone on that." He muttered to himself as he stepped out of the bathroom in a towel and headed to his wardrobe.

He looked in the mirror as he opened the door to his wardrobe. Two large yellowing bruises lingered on his chest; from the two hits he took close range from Ethan, while trying to help Emily.

That was nearly two months ago and it still hurt like hell. He didn't mention it though. He had no desire to get sacked again with medical leave.

He shook the thoughts from his head and quickly got dressed before grabbing a thermos of coffee and an energy bar.

As he headed toward the door, he hadn't noticed the window in the dining room open or the figure that crept to a hiding place upon his departure.

Becker, lost in his thoughts this morning, didn't realize how late he was running as he dashed out the door, locking up behind him only to stop dead at the sight of his truck.

It was destroyed.

"What the hell?" He managed.

The windows and headlights were all smashed to oblivion. The truck was scratched as if a saber-tooth tiger had mistaken the vehicle for a scratching post and the tires were slashed with viciousness.

Becker ran over to the truck to see if his ear piece and black box were still inside were he left them.

He pulled them from the wreckage; thankful whoever had done this was not after ARC equipment.

He put the ear piece in. "Hello? Jess?"

"I'm not at my terminal yet; but what can I do for you Becker?" Jess asked.

"Send a tow truck to my flat to collect the truck and a replacement truck so I can get to the ARC, please."

"What happened? Are you alright?" She asked panicked.

"I'm fine. Shame I can't say the same for the truck. I came out this morning to find it totaled."

"I'm on it." Jess assured him. "Expect someone there within the next ten minutes or so."

"Thank you."

"No problem." She replied cheerfully.

* * *

><p>Becker entered the Main Operations room to see the main team waiting for him.<p>

"Why the welcome?" He asked as he approached the terminal and handed Jess his black box.

"You alright?" Abby asked.

"I'm fine. Whatever happened to my truck happened while I was asleep last night." Becker stated.

"You should really watch what you're feeding the raccoons, Becker." Connor snickered.

Becker narrowed his eyes at Connor. "Maybe you'd like to come over and keep watch on my truck, Temple?"

"A sleepover to babysit your truck?" Connor made a face. "Thanks, but I'll pass. Got work I need to be getting back to."

Connor kissed Abby on the cheek before leaving the room to go back to his Prospero Lab.

"I thought there were no incursions at last night's anomaly?" Jess asked, staring at the ADD.

"There wasn't, we searched everywhere." Abby confirmed.

"Then, what's this?" Jess asked as she played the audio from Becker's black box.

It was some sort of primal, animalistic growling, followed by loud bangs and glass shattering.

"That must be the audio from when you're truck was attacked, then." Jess stated as she put the audio on loop.

"But that's not a noise a creature could make." Abby noted. "It sounds almost—"

"Human." Matt confirmed.

"No human could have done that much damage in such a short amount of time to a vehicle. Especially in the temperatures we had last night." Becker spoke skeptically.

"Then, what is making those noises and what destroyed your truck?" Jess inquired, turning around as the audio continued in the background.

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><p>Please Review! ;D<p> 


	3. In The Shadows

**Disclaimer: Don't Own; Don't Sue!**** ;D**

**Stage III****: In The Shadows**

She moved cautiously throughout the dwelling; familiarizing and memorizing every inch and corner.

She froze when she heard a click of a door and quickly found a hiding place.

She watched from her hiding place as the tall creature walked the corridor, clad in black. He seemed to be searching for something.

'Move not.' The voice whispered.

The tall creature walked over to a nearby table and picked up a small black box with buttons.

**Becker's POV:**

Becker couldn't believe how stupid he was that he had forgotten his phone at home. He was on lunch break and had lost a majority of his time having got caught in traffic on the way here.

Becker was still a bit shaken up about the audio Jess recovered on his black box. He wanted nothing more than to believe that, that was a creature of some sort, as opposed to a human being as Matt suggested.

He looked around retracing his steps to where he could've left it.

He found it sitting on the coffee table in the living room. Picking it up, he turned and headed for the front door.

He stopped in the hallway. Something didn't feel right, and it wasn't just the fact that his thermostat was still broken.

His phone went off, snapping him from his thoughts.

"Becker."

"Anomaly. Central Square." Jess explained.

"I'm on my way." Becker replied, hanging up and leaving his flat for the second time that day.

The back door still swinging open in the kitchen, unnoticed.

* * *

><p>She moved from her hiding place and crept over to the large window to watch the tall creature depart in a metal monster.<p>

She moved away from the window and crept away looking for somewhere to rest for energy. She remembered seeing a large padded nest and made her way toward it.

**Becker's POV:**

As Becker drove toward the anomaly site, he called an electrician.

"I'm at work right now, but the landlord should be able to let you in." Becker explained.

"Yes, it's the thermostat in the hallway near the bedroom. It broke sometime in the past day or two. If you could fix it today that would be great. Thank you."

He hung up the phone and pocketed it.

The strange feeling that something was not right returned once more, but Becker shook it off and continued his drive to the anomaly sight.

* * *

><p>She shot awake. Darting her primal eyes around. She heard something.<p>

Some odd buzzing noise that didn't belong.

She jumped out of the soft nest and darted to the door to see a creature. It wasn't the tall creature that resided in this dwelling. This creature seemed to be trying to mark territory.

"Threat." The voice murmured.

**Electrician's POV:**

He hummed to himself as he set the box of tools down and pulled the casing off of the thermostat panel to reveal the wiring.

"Should be a simple fix." He smiled to himself as he bent down and grabbed some pliers and a screwdriver.

He went to work on the wiring to fix the heating.

He paused when he heard a creaking and a noise that he couldn't quite place.

He managed to convince himself that it was the man's dog or the house settling or something to that effect. When he heard the same noises again, he was convinced otherwise and made to hurry up his work, making sure it was done as correctly and quickly as he could.

He popped the casing back on, turned the thermostat up to 27*C and took off for the front door, dropping the bill behind him. He could've sworn he heard footsteps behind him as he fled the flat.

The man made it to his truck only to realize that he'd forgotten his toolbox.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. "You were just hearing things, mate. It was only you imagination."

Reentering the flat, he returned to the hallway where he'd been working to find the toolbox wasn't there.

He turned to see it setting at the intersection that he'd just passed through.

"How could I have missed that?" He muttered to himself.

He took several large strides to the toolbox, grabbing it, and darting for the doorway.

This time, he was certain of noises he heard behind him. Footsteps; quick in pace.

As he turned the corner that led to the front door, he tripped, tools scattering everywhere. He decided that the tools no longer mattered to him as they were more easily replaced than his life as he crawled and scrambled for the door.

He panicked and screamed as he felt something grab hold of his legs and drag him backwards down the hallway.

* * *

><p>Becker returned later that night, exhausted from the anomaly alert. As he entered his flat, he realized how warm it was. The electrician must have made time to come and fix the thermostat.<p>

Becker went into the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee to warm up after being outside in the cold.

He put the cup up to his lips to take a sip when he felt a breeze blow through.

"The hell?" He wondered aloud as he walked to the back door to find it wide open, swinging back and forth.

The screen was torn apart and it was obvious there was a forced entry, but how long ago did this happen and how did he not notice it sooner?

He turned and went back to the kitchen bar and reached under to grab the small EMD that he stored for his own personal use.

Becker also came to realize that he'd seen a second truck outside when he pulled up just a little while ago.

He pushed the button to ready the EMD.

The dreadful feeling that something was not right came to mind stronger than before as he proceeded to investigate his home for an intruder and the now missing electrician.

* * *

><p>Please Review! ;D<p> 


	4. Someone's Watching Me

**Disclaimer: Don't Own, Don't Sue! ;D**

**Stage IV: Someone's Watching Me**

Becker took slow, small steps as he covered inch by inch of his flat. He tried to focus on what he assumed he was looking for: the electrician.

He planned to start on the top floor and work his way down.

So far, he had covered the bathroom, the guest room, and the hallway closet.

Nothing.

Something made a noise as he walked.

Becker flashed the light on the EMD to the floor and found a few tools that must've belonged to the electrician. He stepped around them and continued toward his bedroom, keeping his guard up.

He took a deep breath as he carefully pushed the door open.

Nearly everything looked as he'd left it. Except the bed.

The bed was untidy.

Becker knew there were more important things to be worrying about, but the fact that his _bed_ was untidy unnerved him.

He entered his room, scooping out the area. Everything seemed clear as he approached the bed.

The blankets were strewn everywhere and the pillows were a mess.

He moved the blankets out of the way and shined the light on the bed. It looked as if a stray dog had taken to his bed. There was dirt and mud all over the sheets and it smelled horrible.

The horrible feeling he'd had all day grew stronger.

The audio Jess had recovered from his black box and Matt's observation of the audio sprung to the front of his mind, refusing to die down as he fought to stay focused.

Becker wanted to absolutely be positive that nothing had come through that anomaly and followed him home; but now he was starting to wonder.

He checked the closets, the bathroom, and under the bed before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

* * *

><p>As Becker cleared the stairs, he noticed something.<p>

More tools littering the floor.

He bent down and examined the tools more closely.

These were different from the ones he had stepped on in the hallway upstairs.

These tools were covered in blood.

He shined the light where he noticed a trail forming.

He got to his feet and cautiously followed the trail, keeping aware of his surroundings.

This was not good.

He should probably call for backup.

Leave his flat in an orderly manner, call for backup, and call for an ambulance.

But the nagging feeling wouldn't go away.

He needed to know. Needed to see for himself, with his own eyes, what had become of the electrician that never left.

The trail led down the hallway, where some of the blood seemed to creep onto the walls near the floor.

Becker made sure the EMD was ready to fire the moment he would need it as he followed the trail into the washroom where he did his laundry.

He took a deep breath before turning the switch on to light the room.

He followed the trail to where it stopped on the side of the washer.

He threw a hand up to his mouth to hide his disgust.

He backed up slowly and made his way out of the flat.

"Jess," He called over the earpiece. "Are you still at the ARC?"

"Turning in some paperwork and running diagnostics before I leave." She answered.

Then she noticed the tone of Becker's voice.

"Is everything alright? Are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

"I—I need you to send for an ambulance and possibly a team. Lester might want to know about this as well."

"What's happened?" Jess asked more alarmed than before.

"Try to stay calm, Jess. I just got home from the anomaly and found the electrician, who was supposed to fix the heating in my flat, dead in my washroom."

"Oh my God." Jess gasped.

Becker heard papers fall and a fast clicking of Jess's heels as she ran back to the ADD.

"Help will be there as soon as possible." Jess assured him.

"Thanks, Jess."

As Becker waited for help to arrive, he could have sworn that he saw curtains move in the living room; but restrained himself from reentering the flat to investigate.

* * *

><p>About an hour and a half later, Becker found himself sitting in Lester's office. Becker had answered the ambulance and authorities as best he could, explaining that he had been at work and came home to the scene.<p>

"So, let me guess, the bill was outrageously huge?" Lester inquired sarcastically.

"Have you seen what these people charge these days?" Becker replied dryly.

"I'll do the sarcasm, thanks." Lester narrowed his eyes.

"Actually, I never saw the bill. He was already dead when I got home." Becker replied honestly.

"Any idea how this could have happened?" Lester asked, crossing his arms.

"I have one." Becker looked and nodded for Jess to come in.

Jess entered with a laptop and set it on Lester's desk.

"My truck was destroyed last night and my black box and earpiece were left on in the truck the night it was destroyed." Becker explained.

"This was the audio recovered from Becker's black box earlier today." Jess explained before pressing play.

The three listened intently.

Becker tried his best not to think about the image forming in his head. It was better if he didn't think of what was waiting for him at his flat.

What had killed the electrician.

What was peering out at him from the living room as he waited for assistance.

A feral human being with dangerous primal instincts that had come through an anomaly that led to God only knew where.

"Sounds like my ex-wife." Lester muttered.

"Whatever made this noise is responsible for the damage to my truck and the death of the electrician." Becker stated.

"The question at hand now is : what are we up against?" Lester asked.

"Something lethal."

* * *

><p>Please Review! ;D<p> 


	5. Madness Vibe

**Disclaimer: Don't Own, Don't Sue! ;D**

**A/N: The result of a little too much downtime at work mixed with boredom….Possibly the darkest chapter to date.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Stage V<span>: Madness Vibe**

"_I think there's something out there._

_I think I hear it move._

_I've never felt like this before."_

**- "Scared" by Three Days Grace**

"Are you sure?" Jess asked as Becker pulled his jacket on.

Becker had been residing in one of the overnight rooms of the ARC for the past few days.

"I'm positive, Jess." He assured her. "I'm going to have to go back eventually. Hopefully, whatever was there is gone and I can go back to my life."

"And what if it's not?"

"I can't keep living at the ARC and I'm not moving in with Anderson. I don't need a chapter of my life resembling Temple's."

"You could come and stay with me." Jess blurted out.

"If you like, I mean." She quickly added.

"Jess, you already have Abby and Connor staying with you. I don't want to impose."

"But you won't be, I promise."

"Jess, I'll be fine. I'll sleep with a gun if that will make you feel better."

"Look, I just—I don't want the next call that comes to the ARC to be regarding your death." Jess forced herself to say what was on her mind.

"I don't go down so easily." Becker gave a reassuring smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Jess." He nodded before leaving for the night.

* * *

><p>"Matt." Abby called as she ran to catch up to him.<p>

Matt stopped and turned to face her. "What's on your mind?"

"I found something I think you might be interested in." She said holding up a large envelope.

"Something you should know." She corrected herself.

"What?"

"I've been doing some research and digging into what happened to Emily." She began.

"Abby, I don't want to know."

"I think you need to—"

"Abby, Emily's made it home and that's all that matters." Matt cut her off sternly.

"Trust me, this is relevant." Abby retorted, slapping the envelope against Matt's chest before walking away.

* * *

><p>Becker walked to his front door warily.<p>

He wanted to believe that this past week had been all a bad dream.

The destruction of his truck; the invasion of his home; the brutal death of the electrician in his home.

Most importantly, he wanted to ignore the terrible thought swimming around his head that there was some sort of primal human being lurking in his home.

He took a deep breath and opened the door entering his flat.

He flicked on the lights and made sure he took the safety off on his gun.

He walked around turning on all of the lights checking every inch of his home.

It seemed eerily quiet and his home was completely free of any presence; but not free of the creepiness.

He would leave all of the lights on tonight, and keep his bedroom door locked up tight.

Becker jumped around and ran to the kitchen when he heard the back door slam.

* * *

><p>Arriving in the kitchen, he found the back door swinging open, banging against the frame; but no sign of anything.<p>

He took a step cautiously outside the door and looked around, gun at the ready.

Nothing.

He went back inside and bolted the door, before going off to do another once-over of his home.

Becker, startled as the feeling that he'd been trying to hold off crept back, decided to skip his shower and go straight to bed.

He felt like a child, checking the closet and places children assumed monsters hid and felt satisfied enough, as he changed into a t-shirt and flannel pants before climbing under the warm blankets and falling asleep immediately as his head hit the pillow from exhaustion.

He had left the gun on his nightstand; ready to use at a moment's notice.

* * *

><p>Matt stared off as Abby turned the corner, presumably heading home for the night.<p>

He glanced down to the envelope Abby had thrust into his hands.

Emily wasn't allowed to mean anything to him because of the mission.

He'd promised his father nothing would matter to him; but he wanted to know.

Matt opened the envelope slowly and pulled out the files inside.

It was a photocopy of _The London Times _from the 1800s.

An article in the bottom corner read: _Lady Merchant committed to Bedlam_.

Matt stuffed the papers back in the envelope and briskly made his way to the Main Operations room hoping to find Jess.

* * *

><p>Becker was tossing and turning in his sleep.<p>

He kept feeling as if he were not alone.

He felt movement that wasn't his.

A creepy crawling sensation overtaking him.

His eyes still closed, he tried to convince himself to go back to sleep and that he was imagining it.

But then he realized something as he felt a weight on his legs, climbing further and further up:

In his fatigue, he had forgotten to lock the door to his bedroom.

Becker forced his eyes open as the weight was just making its way past his hips.

Someone was on him, pinning him to the bed; and it looked as if they were about to strike him with something.

He threw his weight against the assailant, flinging both of them off of the bed and onto the floor.

Becker felt a burning sensation as he and the assailant hit the floor; him landing on the trespasser.

The culprit struggled under his weight, kicking at him as Becker tried to find their hands to pin them down.

His vision briefly went white as he felt another sharp, burning sensation strike into his deltoid and drag down into his bicep.

Becker, certain that he was now in for the fight of his life, forced himself against the pain, finding the person's wrists and slamming them down against the floor.

He felt something deep in his arm where the pain was radiating from.

He did his best to pin the person's arms while quickly pulling out what he now found to be a kitchen knife out of his arm; yelping in pain as he did so.

Becker groaned as the person used his brief distraction against him and kicked him in the stomach, pushing him off and sitting on top of him, their hands suddenly around his throat.

Becker choked, unable to fight back as hard as he wanted to, feeling woozy from blood loss.

He dragged his hand across the floor looking for the blade to hopefully assist him, a choked cry escaping his mouth as the blade found his hand as opposed to the handle.

Becker didn't want things to end here.

He didn't want to end up like the electrician.

He used his injured hand and grabbed the assailant's wrist, doing his best to pull at least one of their hands away from his throat, trying to ignore the pain of stretching the gash.

Suddenly, light seemed to pour into the room and a grunt was heard from the assailant before they fell unconscious on top of Becker.

"Becker, Becker, hang in there, mate." Matt's urgent voice vaguely present to Becker.

Becker felt the person pulled off of him and found himself gasping for air.

"We've got to tourniquet it." Another voice said.

Becker was unable to stay conscious, seemingly content that his assailant was taken care of for the moment.

"Use your belt to tourniquet his arm." Matt ordered Connor. "Jess has an ambulance on its way."

Connor nodded and did as he was told.

Matt turned over the person he had knocked out, as Connor did his best to take care of Becker's injuries.

"Emily." Matt muttered in disbelief.

* * *

><p>Becker's not dead, I promise!<p>

Please Review! ;D


	6. Going In Blind

**Disclaimer: Don't Own, Don't Sue! ;D**

**A/N: A bit shorter, but definitely a LOT darker.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Stage VI<span>: Going In Blind**

Becker's eyes felt heavy.

In fact, he was certain that his whole body had become like stone or lead weights; weighing him down into clouds.

But that didn't seem probable.

Did it?

He felt.

He felt—numb.

There was a numbing sensation coursing through his body.

At the same time, there was a dull burning in concentrated places on his body.

He could hear something.

Something that sounded like birds—singing.

Why were his thoughts coming so—slow?

Becker forced his heavy eyes to open lazily and gaze at his surroundings.

It looked as if he were in a—hospital.

That was the word, right?

A place of rest?

He turned his head to the right and saw a small glass vase with flowers. Their fragrance filling the room.

He gave a small smile at the calming feeling it gave him of a memory that he couldn't quite recall at present.

"Oh, you're awake!" A birdlike voice called in what sounded like excitement.

Becker turned his head to see a girl roughly five-foot-five, with dark red hair reaching just past her shoulders, wearing a dark green dress.

"We were really worried about you! How are you feeling, Becker?" She rambled.

We?

Becker?

Was that his name?

It seemed familiar.

"Stupid question." She spoke after a few moments when he'd failed to answer.

"You're probably in a lot of pain, I'm sure." She continued. "You've lost a lot of blood. But the good news is that after everything, they were able to save you."

They?

Save?

He tried to piece things together, but it hurt.

It was as if his mind had hit a brick wall slicked with oil and he couldn't get past it.

They must be the doctors, perhaps.

"I'm—I'm—confused." He finally managed. His voice sounding odd to him; rough and scratchy.

The girl walked closer to his bed and pulled up a chair.

"I warned you not to go home because of everything that happened, remember?"

He shook his head.

He didn't even know who she was.

"Between when you left the ARC and when Matt and Connor arrived at your flat, no one's exactly sure what happened." She explained.

He listened, hoping something would ring a bell.

"They found blood everywhere." She spoke, a shiver shaking through her.

"They—they found you in a puddle of—" She cleared her throat. "Of your blood and struggling against someone. They managed to get her off of you and rushed you to the hospital."

She looked as if tears were about to spill over at any moment.

"Matt got Emily out of there and the doctors worked on you through the night. You had two blood transfusions and—and—" Tears were slowly staring to fall. "And they'd said your heart had stopped once."

"I died?" He asked puzzled.

She couldn't respond as she tried to wipe her eyes.

"You'll be just fine, now." She managed.

Fine?

He knew nothing.

Perhaps—perhaps she meant fine as in he would remain—alive.

The girl was already crying and he didn't want to add to it; but he wanted to know the name of the person who was with him when he woke up.

"Who—who are you?" He asked in a small voice.

* * *

><p><em>Failure.<em> The voice hissed.

_Unfinished_. It continued.

She couldn't move freely anymore.

There was nowhere to hide in this box—this _room_ she'd been taken to.

She glanced at her wrists.

At the silver chain that clung snuggly to the one wrist that kept her bound to the table.

She violently shook at it, trying to free herself.

Growling at the metal as it bit her.

_Not done_. The voice came again.

_He breathes still_. It taunted.

She remembers going after the tall one as he slept.

Crawling onto his nest.

Crawling onto him.

Keeping close guard at where she placed her hands as she climbed up him, wielding her weapon to strike the tall creature.

He had opened his eyes and attacked her.

But she fought back.

She slashed at him.

_Blood_. The voice said satisfactorily.

She had watched it pour from him.

She knew he had somehow managed to take her weapon from her and pin her arms.

_Mistake_. The voice hissed.

She managed to get on top of him again squeezed at his throat.

_Kill_. The voice provoked.

Something had stopped her.

Other creatures.

Her focus returned to the metal holding her to the table.

She growled at it again as it bit her. She watched the wine-colored liquid glide down her arm from where the metal had attacked her.

* * *

><p>"What happened to her?" Abby asked Matt, staring horrified into the window of the room they had put Emily in.<p>

"Bedlam." Was all Matt could say as he looked on with a stern face.

* * *

><p>Please Review! ;D<p> 


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